LAKE STEVENS — On any other football team, Andrew Grimes may very well be THE star.
The Lake Stevens running back rushed for almost 1,700 yards last season and scored 24 touchdowns. This year, despite missing nearly two full games because of injury — and not playing in many fourth quarters with the Vikings holding commanding leads — he has 1,473 yards and 27 more touchdowns.
Grimes, along with All-American quarterback Jacob Eason, helps keep the Lake Stevens offense balanced and rolling as the Vikings (12-0) prepare to take on Skyline (11-1) in a 4A state semifinal game Saturday night at the Tacoma Dome. The kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m.
Lake Stevens head coach Tom Tri said Grimes flies under the radar a bit because of all the weapons the Vikings have on offense — including the University of Georgia-bound Eason, first-team all-conference tight end Riley Krenz, and wide receivers Hunter Eckstrom and Brandon Otis.
“He blocks well out of the backfield, he can run the ball between the tackles or off the edge. Why do more teams and people not focus on Andrew?” Tri said. “In my mind, he’s going to make (some college coach) really happy on Saturdays. When the bullets are flying and there’s some adversity in the air, we always try to find ways to get Andrew Grimes the ball. He’s the calm in the storm and is always reliable.”
Eason, one of the top recruits in the nation, certainly appreciates how much easier Grimes makes his job.
“People see our stats and there’s a lot of throwing touchdowns,” said Eason, who has thrown 41 TD passes this season. “They don’t really see the play-by-play, when he gets the necessary first down we need. He’s a really reliable back who can break through tackles, run through guys and go around guys.
“It’s really nice. When teams look at our film, we put up four passing touchdowns but we also put up three rushing touchdowns. So, it’s like, ‘How do you stop it?’”
Injuries are about the only thing that has slowed Grimes this season. He’s averaged 10.2 yards per carry on his 145 rushes. He re-aggravated a knee injury in a 4A quad-district playoff game against Tahoma on Nov. 6 and had two carries for 10 yards and a score before leaving the game. He didn’t return, in part because Lake Stevens, the No. 2-ranked 4A team in the state, had built another large lead.
Tri estimates Grimes would have more than 1,800 yards this season if he played deep into games.
“We’ve been blessed with great running backs here,” Tri said. “Ever since I’ve been an assistant in ‘98 on up until now, it seems like every year we’ve got a first-team all-league running back. Andrew is every bit as good as any of the ones I’ve had since I’ve been here. He can run guys over, he can make guys miss, he has good vision, he’s smart, he’s a great leader on and off the field, I can’t say enough nice things about him.”
Grimes didn’t practice much leading into the Vikings’ state opener against Issaquah, but was still effective, rushing 23 times for 134 yards and two scores.
Against Graham-Kapowsin in last weekend’s quarterfinals — again, with little practice time — Grimes ran for 280 yards (on 21 carries) and three touchdowns in a 49-14 win over the No. 4 Eagles.
“He’s obviously got tremendous heart to have two weeks back-to-back with the Issaquah game and Graham-Kapowsin where he can barely go at all in practice and then come out and have a 130-yard game and then go for 280,” Tri said. “I’m just so impressed by his ability to put things behind him and put the team first.”
“If he was still injured, you can’t tell,” Eason said. “He was blowing through the secondary and hitting that third gear and just rolling.”
For his part, Grimes doesn’t mind if he flies under the radar.
“When I do get overlooked, sometimes it helps me,” he said. “Especially last year, people didn’t know about me as much and the teams weren’t worried about our run game. They were worried about Jacob Eason. That just opened everything up for me. That gave me a chance to exploit the defense and do what I do. Once I do get some recognition, it brings in more defenders for me and it opens things up for Jacob.”
Tri praised his senior running back for not just his skill, but his unselfishness.
“He never complains,” Tri said. “There were multiple games this year where he had six, eight, 10 carries. He’s a workhorse back. He should have 25 carries a game. But he’s in a system where we spread the ball all over the place and you would never know it by Andrew’s effort and demeanor. He’s just unselfish.”
One team that isn’t overlooking Grimes is Skyline. Spartans head coach Mat Taylor said his team has seen what the Lake Stevens running back can do and stopping Grimes is one of Skyline’s top priorities.
“I think the thing that goes unnoticed a little bit is Andrew Grimes and what he did at Graham-Kapowsin last week,” Taylor said. “… You have to account for their running back. You have to respect him. We’re going to have to put six in the box and respect him and give him his due. He’s a special talent. As good as Jacob is, and this isn’t a knock on him, I think it goes through (Grimes).”
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